Mayhaw Man

The Southern Food and Beverage Museum will have it's grand opening today in New Orleans. The opening theme will center around drinks in New Orleans and is called "A Toast to New Orleans". This exhibit will be located (temporarily) on the first floor of the New Orleans Centre at 1400 Poydras. If you can find the Superdome you can find the New Orleans Centre. Just look for the Dome and head next door going towards the River. You can't miss it. The Press Releasegives a little better info. I am planning to go over tommorrow and see what's happening and I will let you know. I had to work today, unfortunately. This is a great idea and I am really glad that that it's coming together. Eventually it will cover the South (you guys can argue about what that is-I probably have a different opinion ). Perhaps we can get someone from the Museum to get on here and tell us about it. I am about to give that a shot. Anyway-I will keep you posted. This could be very cool.

No, that was Abita Springs, Louisiana. Yes it was in Abita Springs, LA. By the same guy who was one of the developers of that fine beverage that appears in the above post.

Hay Queso (if you can find the real stuff) does nicely. Creamy goat cheese (as suggested above) is also nice. I've got a ton of figs hanging on the bush right now that will be ready in about two seeks if the squirrells don't get them first.

how do like that vacu pak? i have been looking at them for years, if you can believe that. after that chicken pot pie recipe, you are my god. on your say, i may own one by lunch. also if you have brand rec, that would be great Check on ebay. You can save yourself a bunch of money, as they seem to be popular gifts to unload there. And as far as liking it, the thing is great. Probably has paid for itself 50 times over at this point (peas and butterbeans are my upcoming vacu project-about two weeks away from freezing time). I also like it for freezing stuff to go to the lake. You end up with a solid little block of sauce or whatever and it takes a while to thaw. You can use them in ice chests instead of ice. I have a Kenmore Save and Seal (Sears) and it works great. It has the little jar attachment which is pretty handy as well. It takes just about any vacu bags (we buy em at Sam's). Edited to say that I should have read through the thread. As usual, Rachel is waaay ahead of me. We're kinda slow down here (95F and 80% humidity will do that to you-these are current conditions, not some kind of theory )

Rosenthaleroni? I think that name could work. Covers alot of ground and has a nice ring to it.

Potted Meat Vienna Sausage Sardines in Mustard (not good ones-cheap ones in cheap mustard) I think that it must be genetic. My Dad and both of my Grandfathers eat/ate this stuff all of the time.

I wish them the best. I always liked the product. But I fear that they will need to sell a hell of a lot more that 22,000 bbls per year to make a living at it. If I remember correctly, that plant can operate in the 150,000 range ( I have to get an old New Brewer to find out exactly). Once again-the place is a brewers dream. Nice brewhouse, shitloads of refrigeration and storage, decent packaging capacity on nice gear. They need to get out and sell some beer.

ha ha ha! I have a poster from this and from another product that St Ides Malt liquor made (briefly) along the same vein (I am not sure that it EVER went into distribution-I got the poster from a distributor).

You can often find great bargains on rib roasts at Sam's (and I suppose Costco). We buy them and cut them into steaks quite a bit. Vacu pac and keep in the fridge, or freeze if they are destined for a trip to the lakehouse.

Romaine Salad with avacado and grapefruit and a swell balsamic vinegarette Pan Fried Catfish Corn off the cob sauteed until warm with butter and garlic Chocolate Pecan Chess Pie for dessert.

As we speak there is catfish gurgling in the peanut oil in a big cast iron skillet that has seen one hell of a lot of fish in the last eighty years or so. I am cooking it exactly as described above and serving with sliced creole tomatoes, corn off the cob with butter and garlic (barely sauteed until warm) and a little more romaine salad with grapefruit and avacado (it's a great combo). I juiced up the wash with a little Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. It gives it a nice, but not overwhelming, zing.

Stuff from the past two weeks out of Gambit, The Times Picayune, and the Lagniappe. Robb Walsh, and gentleman and fellow eGulleteer, gets a good book review:THE TEX-MEX COOKBOOK: A History in Recipes and Photos Marcelle Bienvenu finds Creoles in Acadiana: Honey, I found a local Creole Tomato supplier Picayune Food Editor Judy Walker knows where to pick blueberries (just come to my house and keep going about 5 miles-I am surrounded by the things) You Pick Em- You Eat Em Ideas for when you've got the blues (berries that is) Stuff to do with fresh blueberries We have better kitchens and chefs in our chemical refineries than some parts of the world have in their restaurants (and I can back that up-don't laugh) A "Roundup" plant full of good chefs and things to eat And our electric company puts out a better cookbook than many chefs can: The New Orleans Public Service Company Cookbook (that's NOPSI to you) Brett Anderson like sitting outside and eating at "Shell Shucked" Gambit Weekly's Sara Roahen like Mimi's and I do to. In fact, I think that I like it more than she does. You tourists should put this on your list of places to go besides the usual stuff. Mimi's has lots of little plates full of good stuff to eat! And last but not least, Chris Rose of the Picayune has written a really funny piece on Jessica Simpson, New Orleans, and her eating habits. (Chris is a paid stalker-when not following around Britney or getting in fights with her Dad-he dishes on Celebs and cultural oddities around New Orleans-His archived stuff is worth the trouble if you are looking for something to read about New Orleans) Hey Baby, You need a light?

I have been meaning to start a topic on this, and now Marcelle Bienvenu has done all of the work for me in this morning's Times Picayune Food Section. She explains just what in the hell these wonders of nature are and where they come from. There are a couple of interesting recipes, although as Marcelle points out-it's hard to do better than sliced creoles with a little salt and cracked black pepper. I love these things and am lucky enough to have a vegetable stand about 350 yds. from my house that sells them by the box at almost the same price I can get them for in Placquemines Parish. The Creole Tomato Festival takes place this weekend and will be marked with an always funny parade ( I know the dancing tomato-one of her children is pictured staring into the empty pickle jar photo associated with my cookbook story in the Daily Gullet-she's funny, a good sport, and is one hot tomato ). There will be cooking demos and zillions of Creole Tomatoes all over the French Market (the oldest public market in the United States). If you are around you might want to head down there. Every stand will be featuring the things and it is great visual entertainment. My favorite is Tomato Basil Pie. I love that thing. I should make one tonight. In fact, I think that i might. It's one of those dishes that is just as good cold as it is hot and I can have it for lunch tommorrow. What are your favorite ways to eat these fine red orbs? Edited to say that the top of this page directs you to several of Marcelle's books, but if you decide to try one out make sure that you use the egullet/amazon link aat the BOTTOM of the page (proceeds go to buy bandwidth and yogurt).

It turned out just fine, thank you. I would post a fabulous photo-but my wife absconded with the only working digital camera when she left town. I asked her about it and she responded with (use a very smart ass, accusatory tone when you read this-like a bad little sister ) "What do you want it for- Wanna post some pictures of FOOOOOD? Gonna show off your piiiiie? Well I've got it. Nyah, nyah, nyah-nanny nanny bo boo". It was very sad. I often feel for her, but can't show it as she hits me alot. I never deserve it. And incidentally, I prefer a regular pie crust ( I like the patee brisee in Martha Stewarts Pies and Tarts subbing lard for 1/2 of the butter) and nothing fancy on top. I like it at room temp, incidentally. Whipped fresh heavy cream, if you can get it, is nice but not really needed. It can also be pretty swell (especially the choc/pecan one I made last night) warmed up and with a big scoop of vanilla melting on top.

Trix, my friend, are for kids.

I have about a million tomatoes turning slowly red. We have had 2 feet (literally) of rain in the last couple of weeks. I am having to pull some of the tomatoes before fully ripe due to splitting and end rot because of the rain. It is also in the nineties here in the daytime and the plants will not last much longer, so they have got to start getting ripe quickly or come off of the vine. Any hints on ripening tomatoes off of the vine? I had an awesome crop and don't want it to go to waste from rot on the vine.

Does anybody love over-cooked green peppers? Yes. On pulled pork sandwiches with onions. Delicious.

Well, that depends on what I was using it for. I like the white, as it is what I am familiar with. Those little fried pork hunks are a lovely vision of cholesterol filled goodness. I bet they would be great in a salad as pork croutons.

Those shrimp look great! And as for the peeling thing, many people (me included) just pull the head and eat the body, shell and all, but not the tail (although I will eat the tail on fried shrimp ). They are quite crispy after the oven/broiler and much easier to eat this way. I don't think that this would work for your SO however .

Captain Crunch with Crunchberries is one of the best reasons to raise small boys. I love all of that sugary goodness. I especially like the way that my teeth are coated with a padding of sugar paste after a big heaping bowl. MMMMMM. THat's good eating. My brother used to pour them out into a big bowl, like Jethro, and eat all of the Crunchberries, take the toy (Captain Crunch had cool toys), and then put the plain cereal back in the box. I hated him for that.

That was one of the funniest moments in the history of American Presidents on Television.

Once you learn how to handle the little devils, crawfish are really easy to eat. Crabs, on the other hand, are a pain in the ass. I used to buy crabmeat (lump, claw, backfin) by the ton (literally) and had occasion to visit picking houses. Row upon row of ladies in hairnets listening to the radio or a reader (in Vietnamese in the case of the readers) and using very sharp, very short paring knives to extract the beautiful and tasty meat. Watching the experts made me realize that if it was that slow for them, I would never get it. I eat them all the time-but never enjoy them the way that I enjoy eating picked meat. Too much work.

I took a cooking class called "making a living frying seafood" . You can use milk if you want, but there is no real reason to do it. No, I am not talking about deep frying (although if it is oil in your food that you are worried about I can make the argument that you are probably going to have oilier food using the method that you are using than a proper deep fry). THe temp is key and a good thermometer will easily measure 1/2" of oil.

Get rid of the milk. It's not doing anything but burning (that's not your problem, but that's what's happening anyway). Take 2 eggs. Beat until fluffy. Add one cup of water. mix well. REFRIGERATE! Egg wash needs to be cold. If you are in a hurry throw some ice in it. Cold is a big deal. We are looking for shock here. Prepare a mix of 50% yellow corn meal and 50% yellow corn flour. Add whatever spices you like (although I also add Crystal Hot Sauce to the egg mix, but that's your choice). Heat your oil to 350F (I know nothing of this grapeseed oil of which you speak -so I am not commenting on it ), I prefer cottonseed or peanut as they both are pretty heat tolerant. USE A THERMOMETER_THIS IS KEY! Dredge fish in eggwash and then into flour, making sure that you press the flour into the cracks of the fish-this makes it hold better than just rolling it around. Fry a couple of minutes on each side, until golden brown-watch the thermometer-the fish and the oil will burn at about 390F. If the oil smokes or you smell or see smoke-you are screwed. Start over. Keep it at 350F and you will be a happy catfish eater. THere are few freshwater fish that approach a good piece of catfish.

Here at the end of Lonely Street I have been inspired to make a chocolate/pecan chess pie (I am a southerner who uses cornmeal ) to serve as dessert after I eat my big ass, cheap shrimp that I got at the farmers market this morning (16-20's-3.50 USD a pound). I bought 25 pounds for the first freezing frenzy of the summer shrimp season. They were caught just last night. I am heading them and freezing. I will make a bunch of shrimp stock with the heads. I am marinating a few of them in fresh shaved ginger, Steen's Cane Syrup, and strawberry vinegar. Skewer and quickly grill over a smoky, hot pecan wood fire.